Problem: Christopher wants to give his friend a potted plant. At the local florist, the flowers come in 3 colors, and there are 4 types of flower pots. If he can choose any flower and any pot, how many different potted plants can Christopher buy?
Explanation: If Christopher decided on a flower color, how many different potted plant combinations are there? He can choose one of 4 flower pots, and so there are 4 different potted plants possible (given that he already chose a flower color). Since there are 3 flower colors, there are $3 \times 4 = 12$ possible potted plants.